


The Reality of Existence

by Lavender_Rebellion



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst but its brief, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Its a human au mixed with canon, Jobs!, Learning to be Human, M/M, Real Life, Sides become human, Slow To Update, best of both worlds, technically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-09-05 20:43:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20279527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavender_Rebellion/pseuds/Lavender_Rebellion
Summary: "Thomas looked around his living room and felt a stone in his gut. He had four freshly human sides before him. Four human, terrified, grown adult men who had never lived a day in the real world. Four men who didn’t legally exist, permanently in reality. They were in his care now, and that dormant panic made itself known once more."A story about learning to live and learning to love. But also about being roommates, first jobs, being an adult, and that friendship really is the strongest force on earth. They all have things to teach and things to learn, but that's part of being human.(They have to learn how to do that too, though)|Not Abandoned, Simply on hiatus as I work on other work. 1/24/20 |





	1. Separation Anxiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross-posted on Tumblr under the same username.
> 
> TW in the first chapter for a panic attack, what can be considered depression symptoms, and bad puns.  
There is a lot of angst this chapter but I promise it's a lighthearted story! I just felt that realistically the initial separation would be harsh and traumatic for them, and deserved to be taken seriously.  
(Also, I know I tagged Deceit but he is not ejected with the rest of the sides and won't appear for a while.)  
Let me know what you think!!

Thomas closed the door noisily behind him, letting out a heavy sigh and quickly making his way over in front of his TV, the familiar spot lending him some comfort and he could feel most of the anxious energy fall from his shoulders. He took a moment to take in the new perspective of his living room the spot gave him, before rolling his shoulder and finding the threads inside him. Thomas tugged at the one thrumming with more nervous energy than usual, watching Virgil appear on the stairs nearly immediately. Seems he was waiting for him, which was fair considering that Thomas had been thinking of this all day.

“It’s bad.” Virgil agreed quickly, wrapped up tight in his hoodie with darker bags than usual. Thomas still wasn’t sure if they were natural or makeup, and Virgil always dodged the question. Honestly, he didn’t know which one was more troubling, if Virgil apparently hadn’t gotten a good nights sleep _ ever _or if he thought it was a good fashion choice. Speaking of bad fashion choices…

“I knew it, they hated it!” He despaired, running a hand through his hair. Virgil nodded solemnly.

“There is an unusual amount of icky-sticky energy in here.” Patton rose up, hands on his hips. “If I didn’t know better I’d think your name was Vicky!”

Thomas let out a small chuckle at the Fairly Odd Parents joke because while it wasn’t Patton’s best it was clear that he was trying to cheer him up. Virgil sent a tense smile at the other side, who seemed to pick up on the mood and clapped his hands together.

“Alright then, what's the problem, kiddo? I’ve got my listening ears on and I’m ready to _ ear _you out!”

“It’s his new shirt!” Virgil chimed in, gesturing. Patton looked confused.

“My friends hated it!” Thomas clarified, “I looked awful all day, and they kept sneaking looks at it with this look on their face..”

“Thomas have we not already gone over your cognitive distortions? It was only a few months ago, surely you remember?” Logan rose up, flipping through a planner. He looked up to give Thomas a disapproving look, before returning Patton’s wave and sharing a smile with Virgil.

“Well yeah, but this is different.” Thomas insists, feeling a little silly but mostly like he needs to change his name and go into hiding.

“Look, Thomas, there is only one option and you know it. It’s time to move away to a remote village and become a hermit, never showing your face again.” Virgil cut in, chopping his hands down to emphasize his point. He nodded along, crossing his arms and wondering how long it would take to pack up his entire house and buy a new one. One without internet access, he couldn’t ever go online again.

“Uhhhh….” Patton looked up at Virgil dubiously. Logan shot him a similar look.

“That’s a bit of an overreaction, is it not? We can’t just go into hiding over a bad ‘look’.”

“Watch me.” 

“What’s wrong with his shirt, again? I’m lost.” Patton asked.

“And why are you reacting so strongly to this, it’s hardly the worst thing you’ve worn out of the house,” Logan added, and Thomas clutched at his chest, offended. What could he possibly be talking about, and why was he so quick to remember it? Was it recent? Had Thomas just been walking out of his house looking like he got dressed in the dark for ages? 

“Not helping, Lo!” Virgil ran his hands over his face, dark bags still perfect afterward which lent weight towards the natural theory..what were they arguing about again? “Anyway, that’s not the point, the point is that Thomas looked ridiculous all day and it’s all on camera!”

Oh right, that.

“OH! That’s right, you were filming that collab today weren’t you?” Patton gasped, clapping his hands together again. “How did that go?”

They all looked over at him, disbelieving, before turning back to the conversation. 

“Everyone is going to see my stupid shirt and laugh, and screenshots are going to be all over Tumblr and there will be memes-”

“Are you really that worried about a bunch of 13-year-olds making fun of you?” Logan interrupted. Thomas ignored him.

“-and people are going to think I'm silly and then they’re going to realize that I’m a weird 30 year old who records himself talking to himself and posts it on Youtube-”

“Tumblr is not just a bunch of 13-year-olds, there's plenty of young adults and adult adults. I mean, we’re on Tumblr, and so is Joan.” Virgil argued.

“Plus 13-year-olds are really mean,” Patton whined. Still ignoring them.

“-and they’re going to stop watching my videos which means I’m going to steadily lose money until I’m making none and then I’ll have to get a stuffy desk job-”

“That’s true. It’s like the John Mulaney skit, ‘13-year-olds are the meanest people in the world because they will make fun of you, but in an accurate way’.” Virgil quoted. 

Patton gasped, “Oh I love John Mulaney! He is a very funny man.”

“That’s ridiculous, there’s no factual evidence that 13-year-olds are meaner or more observant than any of the ages near them.”

“Clearly you’ve never spoken to a 13-year-old.”

“-and I’ll spend the rest of my days living in a grey, unfulfilling haze where my coworkers make fun of me and send office emails around full of my earliest vines and those awful screenshots-” Ignoring them, just continue ranting.

“We are both sides, I’ve met every 13 year old you have.”

“And you’re still defending them?”

“Yeah, I’m on Virge’s side in this, Logan. 13-year-olds are just cruel.”

“I’m not defending them, I’m simply saying that there’s no logical reason-”

“There’s no logic in pre-teens-”

“Not even a _ teen- _sy bit-”

“-and that will be my life, mockery and the cold confinement of office routine, no friends or boyfriends and I’ll die alone, without even a cat for company because I have this stupid allergy-”

CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

They all went quiet, instinctively echoing the clap and looking over at Roman, who had appeared a second ago while they were bickering. Stupid elementary school instincts.

“How am I supposed to practice my one-man duets if you are all making a racket?” Thomas squinted at the gaudy necklace he was wearing, a giant ruby pendant resting in the center of his chest. While he watched, it flashed a dim red light. Must have been the light catching the gem.

But everyone else glanced at it as well, including Roman. He looked pleasantly surprised.

“I didn’t know it did that. Neat!”

“What on earth are you wearing?” Logan sighed, glaring at the necklace in suspicion.

"Oh, it’s a best friend necklace! The Dragon Witch gave it to me-”

“The Dragon Witch?” Virgil interrupted, looking at him like he was crazy. Roman glared at him, but it lacked any real heat. He placed a hand on his hip and popped it dramatically.

“Yes, the Dragon Witch. We totally patched things up and are now great friends! Honestly, it was super judgy of me to declare her as evil just because she _ happens _to be a dragon and a witch. She can’t help that! And there are good witches and dragons! Like Sabrina, or the characters from Dragon Tails!” Roman argued, waving his hand around. Patton nodded along, looking proud.

“That is so true! That’s so cool of you, Roman! And may I just say it is be-_ ruby _-ful!” He beamed.

“Ayyyyyyy-” Roman pointed at him, looking delighted. Thomas hid his laugh behind his hand.

“That feels ill-advised,” Logan argued, Virgil gesturing at him in agreement, looking baffled. Personally, Thomas didn’t see the problem with it. But they were once again off track, and Thomas’s problem still hadn’t been solved, so he shrugged and decided that there were no real arguments against Virgil’s idea and that must mean it was fine. He turned and moved to grab his suitcases out of the hall closet.

“Maybe you should evaluate why you hate dragons and/or witches because it’s not her problem that you have a bias.” Roman sassed.

“I have no problem with either of those things, I’m simply saying that prior behavior suggests- Thomas where are you going?” Logan cut off, confused. Thomas blinked and jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

“Gotta pack, so I can become a hermit.”

Logan sighed and adjusted his glasses. “You are not becoming a hermit.”

“I’m not?” “He’s not?”

Logan glared at Virgil and Patton. “No, you aren’t. Thomas, I know you remember our conversation about cognitive distortions so I’m not going to bother rehashing it, and instead let’s get to the root of this problem. Yes, you may have looked silly today, and your friends may or may not have noticed it. Your outfit will certainly be in the video, and others may or may not make fun of it. But we both know that is where it will end, and that it is a minor problem. So why are you making such a big deal about it?”

“Yeah, buddy, it’s not like you to make mountains out of mole-hills.”

It was Thomas’s turn to sigh, body slumping out of its tense position. “You’re right- (“I’m always right.”) - I’m overreacting. I’m just worried about Cartoon Therapy.” He admitted.

“That’s the new script you and Joan are working on, right?” Patton wondered.

“Yes! It’s going to be amazing, you are just going to love the therapist, Pat!” Roman gushed.

“But that’s the thing, what if it isn’t amazing? What if it sucks? I’ve never made such a long scripted episode, what if it gets boring or repetitive? What if people don’t like the new characters? I mean it isn’t like I made you guys up, and I don’t write our scripts from scratch-”

“Take a deep breath, Thomas.” Virgil soothed, looking a little frazzled but much more relaxed compared to earlier. Thomas hadn’t even noticed his anxiety ebb into a dull static. He did as he said, sharing a smile with him at the reference.

“Thanks.” He murmured quietly.

“Give yourself some credit, you’ve created characters people have loved before, in much shorter bits. Take your personification of Sleep, for example. He is well-liked and barely fleshed out. I’m sure characters you can take your time establishing will be just as well received.” Logan insisted.

“And if you can’t give yourself credit, give some to Joan. We all know they are a creative genius.” Patton added, speaking softly. “The script will be fine, and the characters will be great. All you can do is give your best try when writing, and watch it come to life.”

“For now, distract yourself and allow yourself to calm down. Put on Parks and Recs! It’ll work out.” Roman suggested. Thomas nodded, feeling much calmer than when he came in. He took another deep breath and grinned at his sides.

“Thanks, guys.”

“It was no problem, I a-_ shirt _ you.” Patton shot him finger guns and winked, and then-

Just stood there. Thomas’s brow creased in confusion, watching panic slowly bleed into his expression.

“Pat?”

“I-uh,” The others were looking at him in concern now, “I can’t sink out.”

“What?”

“I can’t sink out.” He stressed, and Logan fidgeted with his glasses.

“How is that possible, Patton-”

“I don’t know!” Patton snapped, looking very upset. “I just know I can’t!”

“I can’t either.” Virgil blurted out, his voice layering.

“This is probably nothing. Lets just all take our own deep breaths, close our eyes and focus on the living room.” Logan said, terse. Thomas watched them all do so, fear rising inside of him at an alarming rate. None of them sunk.

“What’s happening?” He asked. They all looked a little crazed, wide eyes darting around.

“I don’t know, this shouldn’t be possible! What could have-” Logan’s head darted up from where it was buried in his hands. “Your necklace!”

Roman jumped, alarmed at the outburst. A lightbulb went on over Thomas’s head.

“It flashed earlier! When you arrived!”

Roman looked even more alarmed, hands going to the chain and frantically yanking it up over his head, tossing it to the ground. There was a split second of relief on all of their faces before the ruby once again lit up, this time with a blinding red light that filled the entire room, too bright to see through. Thomas could hear the sounds of bodies _ thumping _ to the floor and he blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots from his eyes.

Four men were crumpled on the floor (and stairs), but they weren’t the men who were there just a minute ago. They were all dressed like his sides, but it wasn’t his face looking back at him. He could feel his breath hitching in his chest, his lungs empty and his chest burning. He sunk to the floor and curled up, sticking his head between his legs. He could fuzzily recognize this as a panic attack, though he had never had one this severe, and clumsily went through tactics he remembered reading when researching Anxiety. It took him a while, but eventually, he was back to being aware. The men were still on the ground.

In Patton’s place was a man with curly blond hair and a scattering of freckles across his rounder cheeks. He was a bit softer all around, and round glasses lay on the ground next to him. Roman had been replaced with a tanner version of him, a face that was similar to Thomas’s, but his hair was a dark ginger and thicker, his swoop larger than usual. He seemed broader than usual as well, but he was crumpled oddly and Thomas couldn’t be sure. Instead of Virgil, there was a slight man with wild purple hair, lightly curling around his face. It looked like there was a suggestion of freckles on his pale skin as well, but he was too far away and the maybe-freckles were light if they were there at all. His makeup -or not?- was gone, replaced with very real eye bags that were much less severe but still noticeable. And not-Logan was, well, tall. Not giant, but he appeared taller than before, with black hair neatly styled out of his face, which also looked much like Thomas’s own. Actually, they appeared like they could be siblings, and not-Logan looked the most like who he should be. Does that make sense? Thomas didn’t really care, he was still panicking.

Not-Patton looked the least like Thomas, with not-Virgil hovering somewhere between him and not-Roman. There was a strong suggestion of Virgil’s features but they were more...delicate somehow. Like a distant relative of Talyn’s and a less distant relative of his. Patton didn’t look much like him, while Roman could be a cousin and Logan could be his brother. Because that’s who they were, he knew it and he had to stop lying about it. Those were his sides, only they weren’t very side-like at all.

A low groan came from Logan, the body shifting on the floor and pushing up into a sitting position. Thomas froze, looking at the strange frame which suddenly felt like it was sitting much too close to Thomas’s own. He scooted back, tense. Logan blinked the spots from his eyes as well, before freezing. He was looking straight at Patton. Thomas was sure he was just as startled as he was, but then Logan relaxed and leaned back against the wall.

“Oh good, we’re back.” He hummed quietly to himself.

“Uh, what the _ fuck _?” Thomas blurted, feeling somehow even more confused and nervous. Logan nearly jumped into the air, head whipping around to face him, dark blue eyes blinking once more at him. His brow drew down in confusion.

“Thomas? But how did you- maybe the light….no, because we never appear like this with you around…” He muttered. They were both interrupted by movement on the staircase, Virgil righting himself on the steps, holding his head. His face was scrunched tight in discomfort, and Logan’s attention snapped to him.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked Virgil, lowly. Virgil nodded, eyes clearing the last of the light and locking with the other sides.

“Fine, Lo. We’re back then?” He observed the tight line of Logan’s mouth and suddenly Thomas was staring into green. Virgil’s eyes aren’t brown anymore, either, a grey-green color replacing the familiar warmth. They narrowed.

“That’s not right…”

“What is going on?!” Thomas asked forcefully. He doesn’t get an answer, Patton stirring by the curtains drawing their focus. He fumbled for his glasses, clumsily shoving them back on his face and opening his eyes.

“Well, that sure was a pain in the _ neck,_ very _ ruby _of that Dragon Witch if you ask me.” Patton joked, though it lacked humor. Just like the other’s his body went slack when he noticed the others, but straightened as he immediately took note of Thomas. He absentmindedly noticed that Patton’s eyes were a sky blue. “Why are you in our living room?” 

“I-what-” Thomas spluttered. Patton’s attention shifted just as fast as it came, and he let out a little gasp when he noticed Roman’s unconscious form.

“I don’t think he’ll be waking up for a couple of minutes, at least. It appears we woke up based on how close we were to the initial blast.” Logan offered, his eyes darting back to Virgil every so often, who was also watching Roman with concern. The logical side looked worried, because Virgil was holding his head, maybe?

“What happened?” Patton asked, distressed, and Thomas could have laughed.

“That's what I’ve been fucking asking!” He burst out, earning a startled expression from Patton.

“Language.”

“That is the _ least _ of our problems, Patton! You all knocked out and you aren’t you and you’re still in my living room and no one is telling me what’s going on so take your language and _ shove it. _” He snapped, and his sides reeled back in shock. He felt a little hysterical, he might laugh anyway. It was either that or scream, because one of them was climbing up his throat.

“We don’t know what is going on, any more than you do,” Logan said.

“But, you- you look!”

“This is how we appear in the Mind Space. When you manifested us for the first time you did it with an image in your mind, so that’s how we appeared.” Virgil explained carefully, looking wary after Thomas’s outburst. “In fact, we look like the short's characters you imagined us as, so while some features you seemed aware we had, like glasses, the rest of it wasn’t originally us.”

What? “So I decided your faces and clothes and personalities, and forced it on you?”

“Not quite. Admittedly, we dressed very similarly before manifestation, and our personalities have been ours since we started existing. You’ve always been aware of those things, just like you’ve always known our functions and of our existence.” Logan corrected.

Patton piped up, though he wasn’t meeting Thomas’s eyes. “It’s just part of being a manifester, kiddo. Well, we assume so, there isn’t exactly a guidebook on it.”

He suddenly felt bad about his outburst, the metaphorical wind leaving his metaphorical sails. “I’m sorry, Patton, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. At any of you.”

“It’s fine! We’re all freaking out, I can understand your reaction.” He was warmer this time, and Thomas sighed.

Roman let out a dramatic groan and made to sit up against the TV stand, body swaying unsteadily as he adjusted to being conscious. These eyes were familiar and comforting, even squinting suspiciously at him. “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

Patton tapped the ground to get his attention and quietly started filling him in on what little had happened, while Logan started looking around the living room.

“Earlier, you said we were still in your living room,” Virgil commented, watching Logan. He nodded, and Logan mirrored it.

“He’s right, this isn’t our living room. The pictures are wrong, and things are displaced. Like, look, your blankets are not on the couch, and my book and our tea are missing from the table.” He pointed out, and the other three glanced around.

“We didn’t sink out.” Patton devastated.

“And we’re in our real forms, which shouldn’t just _ happen _out of the Mind Space,” Virgil added, grave.

“Something is very wrong.” Roman finished.

“Nothing would be wrong if you hadn’t worn a necklace from the Dragon Witch.” Logan pointed out, edgy.

Roman looked a mix between guilty, stricken, and offended, and it twisted his face into something that could have been funny outside of the circumstances. Thomas still wanted to laugh, but that might be the shock setting in. Was this shock? He thought for a second and decided it didn’t really matter. But maybe he should get a blanket?

As the sides began some tense arguing, he spotted his phone lying where he dropped it in his panic attack and realized what would help even more than a blanket. He grabbed it and opened up the call feature. (When was the last time he did that, honestly?)

“It was a gift given of good will, I had to wear it! How could I have known she would do this?”

“Maybe because she was the _ Dragon Witch _?!”

“Listen, just because she’s the only female in the Mind Space doesn’t mean she has to be the villain!”

“No, she’s the villain because she’s _ evil! _” Virgil argued.

“He has a point though. Why _ is _the only woman in our realm a villain?” Patton offered, hesitant.

“Roman created her. And he accepted the necklace that got us into this mess!”

“Are you saying this is my fault, Virgil?”

“I’m not not saying that.”

“Virgil!”

“What, Patton? I’m not wrong.”

“But you shouldn’t say it..”

“Patton!”

Thomas hung up and clapped to get their attention. They went quiet once more. “Joan is on their way. Maybe they’ll have some ideas on what’s going on.” And they can tell me I’m not going crazy, he thought, but maybe that was preferable to this situation.

For the first time in his memory, they all lapsed into uncomfortable silence, Virgil tossing his hood over his head and withdrawing into himself while Patton wrung his hands, Roman sulked, and Logan fumed. He had never seen them like this, never known them to be this upset, especially with each other. Things have gotten tense, people have gotten upset or argued, but this disconnect? It was new and somewhat frightening. Minutes passed like snails, slow and dragging, leaving a film behind. Maybe _that_ was the shock.

Finally, a knock on the door drew them out of their heads, and Thomas got up to let them in. They were in their pajamas, and it was only then he thought to check the time. Midnight.

“I’m sorry for dragging you out this late.” He said automatically, but Joan waved him off.

“It’s clearly important, and what are best friends for if not traveling across town at midnight when something important happens?” Joan joked, but Thomas could only give him a weak smile. “You said something happened with the sides?” 

He gestured them in, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not good. I was just chatting with them after I got home, everything was normal, and then they couldn’t sink out.”

“They couldn’t leave?”

He shook his head, hovering by the door and speaking quietly. No point in causing the arguing to start back up before it was necessary. “Roman came in wearing this necklace the Dragon Witch gave him-”

“The Dragon Witch?”

“Apparently they made up recently. Today, I think, the others didn’t seem to know about it. Anyway, they figured that was what was preventing them from leaving so Roman took it off. But it let out this bright light, completely blinded us. I heard them all fall and when I could see again they were unconscious and in their real forms.” At their look he tried to explain, feeling jittery and uncomfortable. That was the panic. Shock? “They look different in the Mind Space, they said. They’ve never looked like this outside of it, apparently, they actively control the change. They still can’t sink out, and they keep arguing..”

Joan placed a hand on his arm, seeing him start to panic (had he ever stopped, though?) and Thomas lent into the steadying touch. He smiled at them, thankful. Finally, they moved into the living room, where the sides were waiting. If their new appearances startled them, they didn’t react.

“So you guys are stuck.”

“Understatement of the year,” Virgil grumbled, and Thomas gave him a disapproving look.

“Don’t be mean to Joan. They are just trying to help.”

“Sorry.” He looked guilty, but Joan waved him off.

“Everyone is upset and tense, I understand. But arguing isn’t going to help anything so can we leave that for when this really bad thing isn’t happening?”

They all nodded, and Joan clapped their hands. “Alright. So, once again, you’re stuck. You’ve all attempted to sink out after you woke I’m assuming?”

“Yeah. Before I felt a barrier, almost. I didn’t notice it at first but looking back it was definitely there. But now...now I don’t feel anything at all.” Patton answered, looking down at where his hands were fidgeting in his lap.

“It’s like the Mind Space is just gone.” Virgil agreed. Logan messed with his glasses again, looking agitated.

“But that’s not possible, unless Thomas had something severe happen to his brain or...he wasn’t breathing anymore. Clearly, neither of those things have happened.”

“Yeah I haven’t bonked my head recently, and I’m still kicking. I think?”

“You are,” Joan assured him, seeing the distress in his eyes. “So that means you’ve all lost your connection with the Mind Space, most likely. Can you still conjure things, or access any of your Mind powers?”

They all waved their hands around to no avail, looking crazy. Frustration was clear to read in all of their expressions. Joan grimaced.

“And my shadows are gone,” Virgil said, rubbing his thumb under his eye. “I’ve always had them, I don’t..”

“So, no powers, no shadows, no connection to the Mind.” Joan ticked off. “Forced appearances, as well. Thomas,”

He looked up. “Yeah?”

“You once mentioned you could feel the connections to them, like strings tying you together. Are those still there?”

Oh. He reached deep into his chest, where the strings he had used to call Virgil had always lied. There was just empty. He couldn’t recall ever feeling this empty. The tightness in his throat returned, and his face fell. A sob burst from his lips. “No. No, they aren’t there anymore. I can’t feel them, I can’t feel you guys.” Tears welled up in his eyes but he didn’t care, struck by the realization. “It’s all empty. I thought that was shock, but..”

Joan looked upset, and he distantly felt bad about bringing them into this, but now he was crying and he couldn’t stop. He was reeled into an embrace, and he went willingly.

“It might be shock, from having the connection broken,” Joan admitted, before looking over his head. “Do you guys still feel..”

It was clear from how they trailed off that the answer was no. They couldn’t feel Thomas anymore, and that wrung another shaking sob from him. It took him a few minutes to gather composure, but eventually, he straightened from the awkward hunched position he had had to make, making a small wince at the wet spot on Joan’s chest. A glance at the other sides showed that he wasn’t the only one crying though. He wiped his eyes.

“So, you have no connection to the Mind, or Thomas. But you’re still corporeal, I can see and hear you. Maybe….you’ve become real people. Somehow.”

Oh. He had been so wrapped up in what had happened, he never stopped to think about what it meant. The others looked just as gobsmacked.

“That’s impossible, though,” Logan whispered, but it was obvious to himself.

“Let's test it. Have any of you moved from your spots?”

“I’m just so used to not being able it didn’t even occur to me,” Virgil admitted, getting to his feet. He swayed a bit, but didn’t fall. The rest rose as well. Patton took an unsteady step forward, likely stiff from hours sitting, and when he didn’t hit a barrier he took another. Virgil climbed down the stairs to meet him in the middle, and Roman stepped forward too. Patton’s eyes brightened slightly, and he reached for Roman.

“I wonder…” He grabbed Roman’s arm and pulled him into a hug. Roman gasped, eyes going wide, and when Patton pulled back he gave Roman a wobbly smile, face brighter.

“You felt it, right?” He asked, before gesturing Virgil to come closer and pulling him into a hug as well. Virgil let out the same surprised gasp and gripped Patton tight.

“Everything feels like it’s dialed up to, like, 15. Lo, come feel this!” He held out a hand to Logan, who placed his own on top and wove their fingers together. His eyes widened. Patton released Virgil and moved hesitantly in front of Joan.

“May I?” They nodded and suddenly Joan had an armful of Patton, who was beaming like it was Christmas.

“I can touch you,” Joan exclaimed, looking shocked. While they had always been able to see the sides, they had never been able to touch them before. Their hand had always gone right through them, like ghosts.

Thomas looked around his living room and felt a stone in his gut. He had four freshly human sides before him. Four human, terrified, grown adult men who had never lived a day in the real world. 

“Is this permanent, do you think?” He asked.

“I think, Logan said haltingly, unsure, “ That we have to assume it is. Go into this with a ‘worst-case scenario’ mindset.”

Four men who didn’t legally exist, permanently in reality. They were in his care now, and that dormant panic made itself known once more. He couldn’t take care of them. He didn’t have the space, let alone the funds. And again, they didn’t legally exist. And how was he going to explain this? Only Joan and Talyn knew he was a manifester!

He caught Virgil’s eye and could tell he was thinking the same thing, saw him work himself into a similar panic.

“How can we live? We don’t exist in the eyes of the government, we have no papers! And without papers, we can’t get jobs! Where will we live? What will we do?” Virgil echoed his earlier thoughts, and Patton’s face fell. Roman was still quiet, arms wrapped around himself and staring at the ground. Logan looked deep in thought, lips moving silently. The tension in the room was back, and suddenly Thomas felt exhausted down to his bones. He just wanted to sleep, and let everything disappear. Just for a little while.

Joan seemed to pick up on this, and as frazzled as they now looked, standing in the center of Thomas’s living room in their pajamas at nearly 1 am, they once again smiled. “It’s late. Let’s order a pizza, I’m sure we’re all hungry, and then call it a night. We aren’t going to get anywhere tonight. Figure it out tomorrow.”

They all sagged, and while Joan quietly ordered they all moved to sit. The sides collapsed, leaning against each other, on one part of the coach while Joan and Thomas sat on the smaller side. He absently thought how lucky he was his couch was too big, but mostly he thought about how comfortable it was, and once again how much he wanted to sleep. There was quiet while they waited for food, but it was born out of exhaustion instead of anger.

Once they started to eat, however, some energy managed to fill them again, and quiet chatter started up. Roman mentioned quietly to Patton how cool it was to have a full sense of taste, while Joan struck up a conversation with Virgil and Logan on living in the Mind Space. He listened to them talk about the bookcase filled with books Thomas has read, about their rooms and the emotions connected, but only when Thomas was with them or they were feeling heightened. Roman chimed in with talk about his Realm filled with creativity and stories, while Patton mentioned the dog they had conjured and kept for a couple of weeks.

By the time the food was gone Thomas was nodding off, but he managed to get up and gather four sets of pajamas, mismatched and some grabbed simply because he didn’t know what would fit them. Like Virgil, who seemed too small for his pants and instead got a pair of boxers he bought a size too small, and Patton who he had to dig out one of his slightly larger shirts for. He wandered back to the living room on autopilot and took them all up to the spare bedroom.

They took the clothes from him and Patton grabbed a bunch of spare blankets, setting up two beds on the floor. They looked as out of it as him, and the chorus of “Goodnight, Thomas”’s were more mumbles than speech. He closed the door behind him and went back down to Joan, who was dozing on the couch.

“Thank you for coming over.” He said softly, “And thank you even more for being so helpful. I couldn’t have made it through tonight without you, and I’ll never be able to express how much it meant to me.”

“Everything is going to be alright, Thomas.” Joan insisted, and he smiled.

“Yeah, it probably will. But would you do me a favor and spend the night, so I know it’s not all some crazy dream tomorrow when I wake up?”

They took the hand he offered and pulled themselves up, giving him a teasing grin.

“What, you thought I was going to leave? It’s nearly 2 am, you owe me a place to sleep, dude.”

They headed sluggishly to bed, and everything else was tomorrow’s Thomas’s problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Joan is out of character, they just really seem like someone who'd be calm and rational in a crisis situation. And a great friend, really the MVP of this chapter. Also forgive the characters for snapping at eachother, they are incredibly stressed this chapter.  
Check me out on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lavender-rebellion


	2. Cover Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All family members are going to be OCS because of plot convenience. Hope Joan and Talyn are in character, I don't know a huge amount about them.  
Enjoy!

When Virgil awoke his brain stuttered and halted, a persistent feeling at the back of his mind that he had forgotten something very important. It wasn’t a new feeling, his own anxiety gave him that feeling often, but it was never so heavy and pressing before. There was a heat across his back and around his middle, and sunbeams hit his face with warmth and unwelcome light. This wasn’t his room, that much was clear.

He blinked open his eyes and stared at the unfamiliar wallpaper, and the tan curtains, brow furrowing with confusion. It wasn’t until he spotted a sock-clad foot on the ground that he understood. Yesterday came back with such a force it gave him a headache, the panic that had choked him last night threatening to swallow him once more. He went through his breathing exercises absentmindedly and searched for a clock, finding a digital one on the nightstand next to his face. The green numbers read** 7:08 am**, the early hour surprising him. He rarely got up before 9, when Patton insisted he woke for family breakfast. 

Said man was the cause of the heat he felt, his limbs splayed over Virgil, spooning him like an aggressive sea-creature. A huff of laughter escaped him, fondness momentarily overtaking anxiety and allowing him to get the strength to de-tangle himself from both the blankets and his best friend. He sat up, blowing his purple bangs from his face and taking a minute to stretch. He felt well-rested, apparently, he was drained enough last night that it beat out his insomnia. He stood, his hoodie falling over the plaid boxers he was borrowing, and padded barefoot across the floor. He stepped over Roman, laying starfished on his makeshift bed, drool wetting the pillow cushioning his head, and around Logan, who slept neatly on his back. He spared a moment to snicker at the way Logan’s borrowed pajamas fell above his knee before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him.

He crept quietly down the stairs, pausing in his spot for a second and squeezing his eyes shut at the tightness in his throat, and into the kitchen. Virgil tugged his sleeves up from where they covered his hands, opened up a couple of cupboards before finding the coffee grounds, and set to making himself a pot. The bubbling of the machine was soothing in the stillness of the house, and he reached up and rubbed at the center of his chest. He felt hollowed out, the space that usually housed the warm connections tying him to Thomas and the others now empty. A deep sadness wells up inside him, but he’s too worn out to panic or cry. He had done enough of that yesterday. Instead, he poured himself a cup of coffee and hopped up onto the counter, pulling his legs up and crossing them criss-cross, bare feet tucked under him. He smelled the coffee and let it steady him, and for the next long while allowed himself to think of absolutely nothing while he drank.

By the time Thomas stumbled in, bleary-eyed and rumpled, his cup was halfway empty. He wanted to make fun of the mess of bedhead Thomas was sporting, but knew his own dyed waves were likely a fright. So he just took another sip and watched quietly as Thomas poured himself a cup as well. Thomas, who had startled minutely at the sight of him walking in, looked tired and drained and unsure what to do with himself. Virgil recognized the look well, and it’s what made him speak up.

“Why don’t you come sit with me?” He offered, inching to the left a bit to make room. Thomas looked up at him, baffled.

“On the counter?”

“I think, out of all days, this is one to not worry about what is and isn’t a chair.” Thomas’ lips quirked at the memory, and he set his cup down to climb up as well (much less smoothly, but Virgil didn’t laugh, consider it his nice act of the day).

There was a second where neither say anything, just waking up and adjusting to the weirdness of doing so around each other, but eventually, Virgil couldn’t help himself from asking the question on the tip of his tongue.

“What did you do last night? After you left us?”

Thomas shot him a confused look. “Nothing really, why?”

He bit back the frustrated noise he wanted to make, sweeping his bangs out of his eyes. “No, I mean…” He trailed off to collect his thoughts. Thomas didn’t rush him.

“Up until less than 24 hours ago, I knew everything you did. I was with you every waking moment, and what I did miss I could find in your memories. Not knowing what you did, not having the means to find out, it’s uncomfortable and foreign. For 30 years we were _ one _, and it’s going to take time for me to adjust to being separated.” He met Thomas’ eyes, gripping his mug tighter. “So please, humor me.”

Thomas nodded, something akin to understanding in his eyes but they both know he didn’t really get it. The sides had been separated people, in his mind, whereas for them it was hard to discern where they ended and Thomas began. They were him and themselves, overlapping and interwoven and mirrored.

But he began to talk, and that’s what mattered in the end. “I went downstairs and spoke to Joan, thanking them for coming over because we couldn’t have calmed down and figured anything out without them. Then I asked them to spend the night and we went to bed. When I woke up half an hour ago they were still asleep.” A pause. “I had a moment of panic, waking up and seeing them, knowing it wasn’t a dream. But I knew that if I allowed myself to wallow in the negative I wouldn’t be able to figure anything out today.” He admitted, and there was more quiet. Virgil hopped down and poured himself another cup, letting the warmth soak into his hands.

“Why do you look like that?” Thomas blurted out, before backtracking. “I don’t mean anything bad by it, and I know it’s probably rude to ask, it’s just that you’re small and slim, and it seems like an odd choice for you..was it a choice? Do you get to choose how you look? I know you can shapeshift but-”

“It’s kinda a choice, but it’s also kinda not.” Virgil interrupted his rambling. “It’s not like I’m a midget or anything, I’m 5’6_ thank-you-very-much _, but a lot of being small is convenient. Like being able to fit in small spaces to hide, or being able to maneuver a crowd fairly easily. Part of it is also because, as a person, you prefer flight to fight. Being compact means I’m more aerodynamic, and I’m pretty fast.” He shrugged, adding, “Plus, I just like being shorter. It can be difficult at times, and I have to put more effort into being intimidating, but I’ve always preferred being my height to being yours.”

Thomas nodded along to the explanation, another look of understanding on his face. Virgil wasn’t upset at the question, though it was funny to watch Thomas trip over himself in asking it. (It was also nice of him to worry about phrasing it right, but Virgil ignored the sappy thought.) It was clear Thomas had more to ask, so Virgil drank and waited for him to ask.

“But beyond your height, you don’t look like me. In fact, you actually look a little like Talyn.”

Virgil chuckled, a slight flush coming to his cheeks. He raised a hand and brushed his fingers over his rounder jaw and pointier chin, his more delicate features, and under his rounder, larger eyes. His lashes tickled the pads of his finger. He opened his mouth to explain. “That’s because when you met them, I saw a lot of myself in them. We’re both short, and edgy, and awkward. But Talyn was also independent, and confident, and intimidating. I thought that was _ cool as hell _, and I looked up to them. Over time my features gradually shifted to reflect that, and reflect them. Just like Roman always has looked up to Disney princes and his features shifted, and Patton looked up to dads. You’re dad, specifically, but some TV ones too.”

“But Logan still looks the same, mostly.”

Virgil grinned, amused, and darted his eyes around to make sure they were alone. He leaned into Thomas. “Don’t tell him I told you this, but Logan actually looks up to _ you _. Yeah, he thinks you’re a little ridiculous and childish, but you’re also loose, and fun, and you take risks to achieve your own happiness. Logan respects that, admires it.”

Thomas looked surprised and awed, his eyes soft and his smile softer. Virgil mirrored it. Conversation over, they lapsed back into silence again until Thomas grinned mischievously. Virgil, stiffened, wary.

“So, I’m assuming Patton has freckles because of Dad, right?”

“Yes..?”

Thomas looked at him from the corner of his eye, a shit-eating grin on his face. “So you have freckles because….”

“Hey remember that time in third grade when that new kid moved to your school, and you called out to him to ask him to sit by you during lunch and it turned out it was his twin and everyone looked at you like you were stupid?” Virgil interrupted, fakely cheerful. He ignored the pink rising in his faintly-freckled cheers, and avoided Thomas’s eyes. Thomas groaned and buried his face in his hands. Retribution, bitch.

“Now now, it’s a little early to be bringing up those kinds of memories, kiddo.” Patton bounded in, bright-eyed and chipper. His flannel pants reminded Virgil of the set Patton wore at home, and something panged in his chest. He drank more coffee and ignored it. He quietly mumbled that Thomas had started it, but Patton was already buried in the cupboards.

“Oh, I hope you have stuff for pancakes, Thomas, because after that pizza last night I am really looking forward to finding out how _ good _they taste!”

“You couldn’t taste things before?”

Virgil took a long sip from his cooling cup, content to sit this one out. Hey, he did the last explanation. Patton’s face scrunched up in thought, pausing in his ingredient preparation. Thomas, apparently, did not have stuff for pancakes, judging by the eggs and bacon slices on the counter.

“Well, we could taste. But everything was dulled, all of our senses were. It’s like..” Bacon hit the pan and started sizzling like crazy, “Everything we experienced was based on things you had. They were memories. So when we ate, we tasted the memory of food you had eaten before.”

“Eat a memory?”

“Yeah! If you think right now, you can remember how bacon tastes right?” Patton waved the spatula at the pan for emphasis. “But when you remember it you only get the impression. Or if you think about how something felt and your fingers tingle with the ghost of the touch. It isn’t solid. The only thing we really got fully was sound, and even then it lacked the richness of real life, background noises or how things echoed didn’t register in your memory so we didn’t get them.”

“Real life is very overwhelming.” Virgil agreed, thinking of all the noises he could hear right now like the house settling, his blood moving, even the _ sound _of quiet. But tasting the tartness of coffee he could admit it had its perks.

“But it’s full and vibrant as well!” Patton said cheerfully.

Thomas snapped his fingers suddenly, startling Virgil. Not that he’d ever admit that in a thousand years. “Like Spiderman! When he gets his spidey-senses and everything is dialed up to 11!”

“Exactly!” Patton enthused, before looking over their shoulders and beaming. “Good morning, Logan!”

Virgil turned to watch a tired Logan slip in and make a beeline for the coffee pot, feeling his heart lurch at the sight of his slightly messy bedhead. Maybe he should get that checked out.

“Morning, stretch,” Virgil whispered as Logan passed by him. Logan rolled his eyes and he hid his grin in his coffee.

“So, Logan,” Thomas began, and Logan gave a tired hum as he poured himself a cup. “I noticed that you’re a couple inches taller than me. Why is that?”

Roman appeared behind them, looking like he’d already brushed his hair, and came up behind Patton. He reached around the taller man and snatched a piece of bacon from the plate they were cooling on, grinning around his stollen treat while Patton scolded him. Logan moved and sat at the table, adjusting his glasses.

“You see, as your knowledge grew, so did I. And as the rate of new information slowed, so did my height, until it stagnated around the time of college. Thankfully, as I do not desire to be any taller than I already am.”

“Logan was always the tallest growing up, since I had the same growth spurts as you and Virgil has always been a bit fun-sized.” Alright Patton, thanks for bringing up his height again. He really didn’t need to deal with Roman’s wise-cracks this early.

“I haven’t grown since high school!” Roman complained, tossing himself down in the chair across from Logan. “It makes no sense! You’ve certainly grown _ creatively _since then!”

Patton set the plate full of eggs and bacon down in the center of the table, ruffling Roman’s hair playfully. “Maybe it’s your ‘allergy’ to greens. I always warned you..”

Roman swatted at his hand, scowling, but Patton’s laughter caused his lip to twitch upwards. Gross, Virgil thought, raising an eyebrow. Patton called his name and he turned to look.

“Set the table, would you, bud?” Virgil nodded, setting down his cup of cooling coffee, hopping off the counter, and setting to his task. He maneuvered around Joan, who had finally slunk into the kitchen mid-yawn.

“Morning.” He said quietly. Joan just blinked at him, apparently not awake yet. They all sit down at the kitchen table, serving themselves quietly. Patton noticed Joan not taking any food, and looked concerned.

“Do you not like eggs or bacon?”

Joan looked awkward, “I’m actually a vegan.” Patton’s eyes widened, and he gently smacked himself in the forehead.

“Of course, how silly of me! I’m sorry, kiddo, let me find you something. I think I saw some fruit…” He trailed off.

“You don’t have to do that, I can get it myself.” They protested, but Patton shook them off. 

“What are dad’s for?”

Joan looked a little bewildered as Patton bustled around. Virgil didn’t blame him, Joan rarely talked to the sides, even during shooting, and Patton’s brand of.. everything, took some getting used to. This must be just as strange for them as it was for the sides. A bowl of scrounged up fruit was placed in the center of the table, a little sad since Thomas lacked groceries. The guy never did take to cooking, beyond those Hello Fresh meals.

Virgil dug into his breakfast, listening to the sounds of forks against plates as there was quiet once more. His heart panged, this was usually the time that Patton chattered about everyone’s plans for the day, and Logan would fill them in on Thomas’s scheduled from his little planner. But instead, there was silence, because the future was unknown and terrifying. Without conversation, they all finished fairly quickly, and Patton immediately threw himself in gathering plates and starting the dishes. Roman hopped up to help, as none of them liked to let Patton do the chores by himself. He already did so much. Right now though, Virgil was willing to bet it was a comfort to Patton. Even with the newness of their senses, dishes were a constant.

“I guess its time to talk, then.” Thomas started, reluctant. Virgil was too, picking at the sleeves of his hoodie anxiously. “Going off of the idea that this is all permanent, there are several issues that are going to become a problem. Funds, for example, space, the fact that you don’t have papers, explanations, videos…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath. He looked rough around the edges.“If this does prove permanent you’ll eventually have to get jobs.”

Logan interrupted. “That wouldn’t be wise, not for a couple of weeks. In case this is temporary.”

Okay, sure, but they are ignoring a very important fact. “We can’t get jobs, we don’t have any _ legal papers _. And we don’t have any, because until yesterday night we were manifestations, the voices in Thomas’s head.” He stresses, gripping his sleeve tight and leaning forward.

“I know a guy.” Joan piped up, and everyone looked at them. “I mean, I know of a guy. Who can make nearly perfect records.”

Patton went white as he sat back down, cheerfulness dying into a sober seriousness. “That’s incredibly illegal.” And well, morality has a point. Roman doesn’t seem to think so, however.

“What other choice do we have? As of right now, _ we _are very illegal.” He argued.

“We still don’t have the money that’s going to require,” Virgil mentioned.

“It is going to take quite the amount of papers to fake 28 years of four people.” Logan pondered, staring at the table. Virgil tensed, because oh my god that was a good point.

“I’ll find a way to get the money, okay? Don’t worry about it.” Thomas interrupted sharply, tense and frustrated. He turned to Joan, “Can you please get in contact with the guy for me, and if this situation hasn’t changed by next week I’ll place the order.”

Joan agreed, quiet, sensing that Thomas was stressed to his limit. Everyone else stayed silent, and they moved on.

“You guys are going to have to share the spare room, because I really can’t afford to move on top of everything, and it’s too dangerous to have you stay anywhere else.” He ran a hand through his hair. “As for other necessities, food is probably going to get tight for a while but we’ll have to make do. And clothes..”

“I can look through my stuff for anything I don’t need, it probably would only fit Roman and maybe Virgil, though. I’ll ask Talyn to do the same.” Joan offered, and Thomas sent them a grateful smile.

“Thank you, Joan. The clothes we had on will likely be fine for a while, but eventually, they will wear out, and we obviously can’t afford to do laundry every day.” Logan uncrossed his arms and took a drink from his mug, the coffee likely cold by now. Joan blinked and a look of realization passed over their face.

“Wait, what else did you have on you?” They asked, and all four of the sides straighten.

“I had my sword. It crossed over as well, it’s laying on the floor upstairs.”

“I know I had my phone and my headphones. As well as a dumb sketch of Princey falling off a cliff, but that’s hardly important.” Virgil added, grinning at the offended noise Roman made. “It was from that fight we had two weeks ago, I just never took it out of my hoodie.” He added, shrugging unapologetically.

“I also have my phone!” Patton added, and Logan squinted at him.

“You have a phone?”

“Yeah, for cat videos!” Patton said cheerfully, before saying as an afterthought, “And a ton of pictures of us, since what kind of dad doesn’t have pictures of their family?”

“Yes, well,” Logan said slowly, before his brain seemed to reboot. “I have my planner and pen, likely the most useful since it holds Thomas’ schedule in it.”

“Do the phones work?” Thomas asked, while Joan stood and ducked into the living room. Virgil shrugged, he hadn’t even thought to turn his on after the calamity last night.

Patton didn’t know either. “Let me go get them and we’ll check.”

Joan came back just as Patton left, holding the stupid necklace that got them into the whole mess. Virgil reeled back, flinching, and he wasn’t alone. Both Roman and Logan did as well, wary. Joan gave them an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to throw it out. It could be important to what’s happening.”

“I suggest we smash it! Perhaps that will break the curse that has trapped us here!” Roman declared, but Logan shook his head.

“Or it could trap us here permanently. Joan is correct, the wisest course of action is to keep it safe until we understand more.”

Thomas nodded, taking the necklace gently as if it was going to bite him, and leaving for his room. Patton popped back in then, tossing Virgil his phone. Virgil swore, fumbling for it and letting out a huff of relief when he managed to catch it. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if it broke. Patton winced, sorry, and they both turned their phones on. The start-up screen booted up, a logo colorfully splashed in bright lights before dimming down into his familiar lock screen. A weight slipped off his shoulders and he slumped back into his chair. From the look of relief on Patton’s face, his worked as well.

Virgil tapped around in his apps, checking to see if everything still worked. They did, however, he found to his dismay that his Tumblr account no longer existed. Damn it. He was in the process of creating a new one when a call lit up his screen, his eyebrow raising when he saw it was Patton. He didn’t know how his number got into his phone, he doesn’t remember putting it in. Virgil answered the call and they found that sound correctly traveled through, so it was likely that the phones were fully functioning. As they hung up Thomas reappeared, pleased to see the phones still worked.

“You should put Joan and I’s phone number in, for emergencies. As for you two,” He pointed at Roman and Logan, “I won’t be able to get either of you a phone for a while, but you’re free to use my laptop if you need it.”

There was no warning about going through it, which was fair. It wasn’t like Thomas had any secrets they didn’t know about. Or anything at all, up until last night.

“I hate to interrupt, but I have work soon so I think we should talk about cover stories. People are going to have questions, and we’ll need them for the documents anyway.”

The good mood deflated, and they all sat back down around the table. A few ideas were thrown around but they were just as quickly shot down, and Virgil opted to stay quiet. Eventually, Thomas seemed to think of something.

“It would be easiest to pass Logan off as my brother.” He shook his head though, seconds later, looking disheartened. “But my real family would have questions.”

“Don’t your parents know about your ability?” Joan asked.

“They do, but while they would go along with it my extended family would still want answers. Not to mention everyone who knew me growing up would know that I was an only child.”

“Would it be possible to say I went to live with other family, or perhaps been put up for adoption?” Logan inquired, and Thomas looked deep in thought.

“My parents would never put a kid up, and everyone knows it.” He paused, “But I did go stay with my Uncle Roy when I was a teenager, right around when I was just figuring out my abilities! He’s aware of vaguely what I can do.”

“He’s doesn’t speak to your extended family, either. Just your parents.” Virgil tossed in, sitting up a little.

“Exactly! It totally could have been possible that he raised a kid with no one's knowledge!”

“There was that K-12 science school near his place, perhaps I expressed an interest at a young age and I went to stay with him to avoid the family moving,” Logan added, and Thomas beamed. There were still some holes in the story, but nothing incredibly suspicious. It seemed like it would work.

“I’ll call up my parents and Uncle Roy later, see if they’ll go along with it.” 

“They might not, Thomas. This is still incredibly illegal.” Virgil reminded him, but Joan spoke up.

“Then we’ll think of something else.”

“Perhaps I could have been Logan’s best friend? That way I’ll have a link to you. Now, I can’t claim to go to the nerd school but maybe I was a neighbor?” Roman asked excitedly.

Joan looked skeptical, shooting a look between them. “Would that be believable?”

Roman waved him off, rolling his eyes. “Calculator watch and I _ are _friends, even if our friendship seems a bit odd on the outside.”

It was agreed upon, and then there was more quiet. Virgil worried his lip when it became clear they couldn’t come up with the last two stories. There were a couple of attempts, to no avail. It would be way too suspicious if they all had stories connected to Logan.

Eventually, Joan had to leave, and Thomas got up to make those phone calls. Virgil could hear snippets of awkward explanations and decided he’d rather not listen to that. Instead, he stood up, addressing the others.

“I’m going to get ready for the day, my legs are cold.” It was silently decided that the others felt the same, and all four trudged up the stairs, taking turns in getting dressed and tidying up in the bathroom. Virgil managed to get paired up with Logan for teeth brushing, and he steadfastly ignored the rising blush on his cheeks every time their shoulders bumped into each other. He booked it out of the cramped bathroom as soon as he was done, opting to brush his hair later.

Then, they all huddled up on the couch together, Roman flipping on the tv and selecting a random channel with cartoons. Thomas was still talking to his mom in the hallway.

“I can’t tell you how much it means to me. Yeah. Yeah, I’ll tell them. Thank you so much, I love you. Buh-bye.”

Oh good, it sounded like they were going to help. At least something was going their way. A loud series of bangs on the door made him reconsider. Shit, it was probably the government. A neighbor saw or heard, or maybe Virgil’s suspicion that the phones were bugged was right and they heard all about them _ and now they were going to be experimented on in Area 51 and- _

Thomas opened the door and Talyn barged in, looking angry. It was a scary sight, but it cut through Virgil’s panic like a knife and he became aware of a hand in his own, being squeezed tightly. He flushed, glancing at Logan out of the corner of his eye and gently taking his hand back. Logan gave him an understanding smile and that _ did not _ help his breathing _ thankyouverymuch _.

“I can’t believe something this major happened and I don’t even get a text! How could you keep me out of the loop on this, Sanders?” Talyn complained, glaring at Thomas, who put his hands up in surrender, before storming over and standing in front of them, arms crossed. And just staring.

Patton beamed up at them, looking delighted, while Roman gave a small wave and Logan fidgeted with his glasses. Virgil just lazily blinked when they looked him in the eye, knowing not to show fear. 

“You look like me.” They accused, and he smirked.

“Maybe you look like me.” They just cocked an eyebrow.

“One of us can shapeshift and it isn’t me, so it’s definitely the first one.” They argued, he just shrugged, conceding easily but not offering up anything further.

“Hiya, there! It’s good to see you again!” Patton cut in, offering his hand. Talyn shook it, looking a little dazed at the touch, but came back to their senses quickly and turned back to Thomas.

“Is it permanent?” They asked. Thomas shrugged.

“We don’t know, but we’re assuming it is.”

“What are the cover stories?”

“I am Thomas’ brother, who went to live with our Uncle at a very young age to attend a special science academy,” Logan explained, and Roman tossed an arm over his shoulders, much to his displeasure.

“And I am his childhood best friend.” He declared proudly. Talyn raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, and Logan shoved Roman off of him.

“Anything for Dad or Grumpy?”

“No. We can’t think of anything.” Thomas admitted, and they seemed to think for a moment, before nodding.

“We can say Virgil is related to me,” Talyn said firmly, surprising them all.

“Will your parents and family really go along with that?” Roman asked.

“It’s just me and my mom, and my mom is a big advocate for human rights. We’ll just say you escaped something bad, like….human trafficking. She’ll agree, no questions asked.”

“That’s great!” Thomas enthused, but Talyn held up a hand, stopping him.

“But she’s going to want to meet you immediately.” They insisted, and they all tensed up.

“Right this second?” Patton asked, startled. Talyn nodded, and they all shared glances between them. Virgil wasn’t really comfortable leaving the house or the others, and it seemed like they all shared that sentiment. But what could they do? He needed this cover story. So he gave a jerky nod and stood up, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

“Lead the way.” He faked nonchalance and hovered in the background as Talyn scolded Thomas once more before heading to the door. He gave a half-hearted wave to the others before closing the door behind him. 

Outdoors was...a lot. The sun was really bright, to begin with, and it was _ hot _. Despite the lack of people on the street, it was loud, and he could hear distant laughter and car horns. He paused right outside of the door and breathed it all in, noticing with surprise that he could smell the air. He didn’t know how to describe it, however, so his brain moved on, noticing the vibrancy of the colors. 

“Odd?” Talyn asked, paused a few steps ahead with their car keys in hand. Virgil snorted.

“Lets just say I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto.” He said dryly, following them as they started moving toward the car again. Virgil had never been in a car before, not as him instead of Thomas. 

“Have you never been outside before, Dorthy?” Talyn joked but was startled when Virgil shook his head.

“No. The Mind Space took the shape of wherever Thomas lived, but if you opened the door you just ended up in the Subconscious.” He explained, opening the door and sliding in. It was surprisingly comfortable. Talyn started up the car, looking fascinated.

“The Subconscious? What was that like?”

“White. It was endless nothingness, filled with things that we weren’t able to be, well, conscious of. But the longer we’re in there, the more things we can see, you’d really have to watch your thoughts then because the Subconscious took things literally. And the more we could see, the less you could see us. If you stayed there too long, you’d cease to exist as a person, trapped in the subconscious as an automatic trait, stripped down to your base functions.”

“Wow.” They said, looking a little queasy. Virgil felt a little panicked just thinking about it.

“Yeah. We didn’t go in there.”

The car was strange, he could feel the movement in his body as they rumbled down the street. It felt unnatural, for someone who had always walked or appeared. But he supposed sinking down would feel unnatural to Thomas, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. Anyway, the rhythm was almost soothing.

“So, how are you coping?” Talyn eventually asked, catching Virgil’s attention from where he was watching the scenery blur by. He blinked at the ridiculous question.

“I’m so stressed I’ve passed freaking out and now I can’t feel much of anything.” He answered honestly, and they winced. “I just wish everything was back to normal. My old life sucked, but I don’t have the slightest clue on what to do now.”

“Your best,” Talyn said firmly, before giving him a smile. He felt off-kilter, at his honesty and their response. “You can only do your best.”

They leaned forward and turned up their music, spending the rest of the ride in silence. They pull up outside of their house and Virgil dragged his feet as he followed them up the sidewalk and inside. Almost immediately a woman popped up, wiping her hands on her apron and scolding Talyn about not texting her to let her know they’d be late. She was a sweet-looking lady, a walking-talking mother stereotype with her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, an apron slung over her blue dress. She was also fairly tall, her heels putting her inches half a head above both Talyn and Virgil. Her stern blue eyes, lined in crows feet, turned to squint at Virgil in confusion. He gave her an awkward smile, shaky around the edges.

“Who’s this?” She asked, and Talyn placed a hand on his shoulder, shooting for comforting but just making him tense more.

“Let's go to the living room, this is a serious conversation.” 

The living room kinda looked like it was from the 50’s suburbs, but traces of warmth and love and Talyn were scattered around. It was somewhat cool, but that didn’t mean the couch was any more comfortable. Tayln’s mom sat across from them on a loveseat, looking concerned.

“Mom, this is Virgil.” Virgil nodded his head at the woman, tucking his hands further in his hoodie.

“Nice to meet you.” He said quietly. Talyn began to spin a story about him being caught in human trafficking at a young age, their hands moving wildly around as they explain how he may have escaped but-

“There are still people out there looking for him. Big, bad people, Mom. He’s staying with Thomas right now, along with another escapee, but in order to work he needs papers. And in order to get papers, he needs an identity.” Talyn explained, worked up. Virgil was a little touched, but mostly uncomfortable at the lie they were spinning. A cover story was one thing, but a cover story to get a cover story? That just felt dishonest. Especially the serious tragedy. But he kept his mouth closed, knowing it was a necessary evil.

“Why doesn’t he go to the police or the government?” Their mom asked, but it didn’t sound judgmental.

“You know our government, why do you think?” Talyn replied, tone scathing. Some kind of understanding dawned in the woman’s eyes, and she sat up straighter, nodding. She gave Virgil a long, searching look, examining him. He fidgeted in his seat, biting his lip nervously before she once again nodded, satisfied, and sighed.

“I’ll help. But we can’t pass you off as my kid, so we’ll have to claim you were my sister’s.”

Talyn blinked, surprised. “But Aunt Natalie died when I was a kid.”

A wobbly smile, something longing and lonely hidden behind false firmness. “Well, she’s the only relative I have, and as callous as it sounds it’s hardly like she can deny the story.” Then quieter, looking down at her hands briefly, “Natalie always wanted a child, anyway.”

There’s a moment of heavy silence, and Virgil is almost too nervous to speak. This is private, not meant for his eyes or his ears.

“Alright, but Virgil would have been 10 when she passed,” Talyn said. Their mother straightened, face once again determined and brave.

“You’ll have to claim you went into the foster care system, then, Virgil. Since so many kids get lost in the system, it shouldn’t be suspicious they don’t have records of you.”

“Thank you so much for your troubles, that should work perfectly, ma’am.” Virgil murmured, relief coloring his voice. She smiled and reached over, taking one of his cheeks between her fingers and pinching it.

“Call me Diane.” She insisted, before standing and brushing off her apron. “Besides, I could hardly leave you in danger. Now I’m almost done with lunch, be a dear and help your cousin set the table?” She winked, making her way to the kitchen. He and Talyn stood, looking a bit dazed at how easy that had been, and trailed after her.

“You don’t have to, I can always eat at home.” He stuttered out. She glanced over her shoulder and looked at him like he was crazy.

“Nonsense, I want to get to know my new nephew!” She insisted, “Now plates are in that cupboard right there, sweetie.”

He shot off a text to Thomas with his new cover story before setting to work, answering the lighthearted questions shot his way by Diane as she cooked. The conversation was smooth and simple, to his relief, and all in all he felt he did a good job considering this was the first non-Thomas person he’d met other than Talyn and Joan. 

As he sat down to eat he received a text from Thomas, and he hurriedly opened it only to gape.

**Thomas: That’s great! We’ve talked it over and decided that you were adopted by Patton’s family after your ‘mother’s’ passing**

**Thomas: Patton is very excited XD**

“Oh jeez.” He said quietly with feeling. He didn’t know whether to be happy or horrified. Did Thomas really ‘XD’ him? Seriously?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez this is a lot of exposition, can't wait to get that over with fully. Also, the joke of 'XD' at the end is in reference to a post on Thomas' Tumblr.  
Yell at me on Tumblr at:[lavender-rebellion](lavender-rebellion.tumblr.com)
> 
> Please comment!


	3. More Than I've Seen, More Than I Knew

Over time, Thomas got used to the others being in his space. The days ticked by, and steadily as they found their rhythm the tension in all of them leaked away. The air was lighter, the smiles were more frequent, and lighthearted banter made its way back into conversations. Well, arguments might be a better word, most of the time.

“Roman! I must insist that you leave the bathroom this instance. Roman? Roman!” 

The door swung open and steam billowed out into the hallway. Logan stepped back from where he had been pounding on the door, crossing his arms at Roman who had appeared in the doorway, freshly showered and apparently in the process of styling his hair if the hairspray in his hand was an indicator. 

“What is it, pocket protector? I’m in the middle of my beauty routine.”

Logan was obviously not impressed, and Thomas, sensing the upcoming argument, scooted around the pajama-clad side and peered into what used to be his spare bedroom.

There was stuff everywhere now, the closet full, desk messy, and two permanent beds set up on the floor. It looked cramped and lived in, even with how little each side owned. Part of Thomas felt bad at forcing them all into one medium-sized room, but he had apologized to Pat once and he had admitted to Thomas that he wasn’t sure if they could sleep in different rooms even if it was possible, the severed bond too fresh.

Virgil was splayed out, fully dressed, on one of the air mattresses they found on sale. His phone was dangling from one hand, threatening to fall from the lax grip at any moment. He looked up at Thomas’s appearance, noticeably tired. Thomas gave him an awkward smile.

“Patton told me to get everyone for breakfast.” He explained. Virgil nodded in acknowledgment but he made no move to get up.

“You tell the doofuses out there?” He raised an eyebrow. The voices in the hall grew in volume and fervor.

“Ah,” Thomas rubbed his neck sheepishly, “No. I didn’t want to get in the middle of _ that _.”

Virgil ducked his head, laughing softly, his body shaking and giving him away even as he seemed to try and cover his grin. “That’s likely for the best.”

Thomas spent a second enjoying the sight of his gloomiest side lit up before heading back out into the hall towards the stairs. 

“We have a bathroom schedule for a reason! You have gone over your allotted slot and now I am behind in my morning routine!” 

“Who needs a schedule? Its unnecessary, and not to mention completely impossible. I simply cannot get ready in only half an hour, Logan! I am a prince, and I need to look as sharp as my sword!” Roman insisted, looking just as frustrated as Logan. Thomas avoided looking at either of them, afraid of getting dragged into this, and once again slid by Logan and down the stairs. Perhaps having Logan and Roman share the upstairs shower was a mistake. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share with either of them either. Patton was much lower maintenance.

* * *

Another thing about having the sides living with him instead of _ within _him was that there were a lot more hands to help with videos.

“And then we’ll splice these scenes together, throw a little bit of that in, and tada!” 

“I can see where you’re going with this, but It’s just going to end up jarring. But we can get a similar effect if…”

Roman watched Virgil reach over and hit a few keys, eyes lighting up when Virgil hit play. They both were seated at the kitchen table, hunched over Thomas’s laptop like they had been for hours. Maybe it was kinda cheating to let them do this instead of doing this himself, but in his defense, he had edited most of his workload. And both of them had been such a large part of his video process that it felt wrong to tell them they couldn’t help anymore.

“That does work better, thank you, Virgil,” Roman admitted, and Virgil gave him a quick finger-gun before they were back to muttering and clicking. Thomas watched them from where he was leaning against the counter with a plate of food in hand. The most surprising part of having the sides around 24/7 is watching them interact. He had always assumed that what he saw during their visits was just how they always were, and maybe that was his fault for not realizing that they were complex people just as much as they were him. But as much as he had seen them argue and fight and insult each other, they were all friends, all cared about each other and had their own inside jokes and activities. Roman and Virgil were surprisingly good friends, and often spent a lot of time creating together. Apparently Roman had started seeing the benefit in Virgil’s criticism and viewpoints, while Virgil had discovered creating as a good outlet for his anxiety. 

Logan and Roman, however, mainly argued. But Thomas was surprised to find out their preferred form of argument to be book analysis. Apparently they had a book club together, and watching them get heated over themes and motifs was not how he was expecting his Thursday mornings to start if he was being honest. He thinks right now they’re reading the Odyssey, based on the loud discussions he heard last Wednesday. 

Roman and Patton liked outdoorsy things. They would go on jogs together or talk about gardening and hiking. Their favorite thing to do was to go out to the dog park nearby, and sometimes the rest of them came with. 

“Why is it so freaking hot out?” Virgil loudly complained, tugging his hood over his sweaty hair like it was a shield against the relentless sun. Thomas looked away from a lab nearby and back to their little trio. Logan and he sat on a bench while Virgil sat in the grass at their feet.

“Why are you still insisting on wearing your thick hoodie despite the heat?” Logan replied without hesitation, not even looking up from his book. Virgil scowled at him while Thomas tried to muffle his snickers, but he didn’t miss the smirk tugging at Logan’s lips.

“Patton watch out!” Roman shouted in alarm, a sudden dull _ thwump _reaching their ears. Thomas leaped up from his seat in alarm, seeing Patton laying on the ground with the football the boys had been tossing back and forth on the ground near him. Roman was jogging over, looking panicked, while the other two just looked mildly worried. 

“Patton are you all right?” Thomas asked, stepping over Virgil and hurrying over to where Roman was kneeling next to Patton, who looked dazed.

“I am _ so _ sorry, Pat! When I tossed it you were still looking at me, and you’ve caught all the others, and are you _ okay _???” Roman babbled, and Patton blinked slowly at him. 

Okay, apparently Patton was knocked in the head with a football. Happens all the time, no big deal. But he was knocked to the ground...and Roman did have a strong arm...and what if their heads were softer or something Thomas really had no idea about what the sides biology was like and nothing like them has ever existed before but they are supposed to be human but that was just something they all decided they had no idea what was happening or what the sides were or if they could die were they immortal was Patton dying right now-

“I saw a dog!” Patton slowly beamed, but Roman looked just as worried, looking at Thomas.

“Logan, how do you check to see if someone has a concussion?” What?

Logan stepped around him, because he and Virgil had apparently snuck up behind him during his...thought spiel...and kneeled on Patton’s other side.

“Patton, are you having any trouble seeing?” Logan asked calmly.

“Sure am, I seem to be missing my glasses!” Patton said cheerfully, and both Logan and Roman seemed to take a moment to mentally slap themselves. Roman picked the glasses off the floor and slid them on Patton’s face.

“And now?” Roman asked.

“Everything seems fine.”

Logan proceeded in having him follow his finger, asking him if he was in any pain (“I think I have some new bruises.”) and asking him a few questions Patton would know. (“Who was the 33rd president?” “Ask him something he’ll actually know the answer to, Lo.”). Everything turned out fine, and while they were causing a bit of a scene all of them were too worried to care. Patton thought it was ridiculous and even did a cartwheel to prove he was fine. Roman nearly fainted.

“So what exactly happened, Pat?” Virgil asked as they gathered their things, not comfortable continuing after the panic. Patton’s face lit up again.

“This really cute dog started chasing its tail so I turned to watch!”

Of course.

* * *

Thomas expected Patton and Virgil to get along, that much was clear as day in their interactions, but he didn’t ever really give a thought to what they might both do. What could they both have in common?

Apparently it was Jigsaw puzzles. 

The large outline took up most of the kitchen table, with tiny pieces scattered absolutely everywhere. Patton and Virgil were bent over in what had to be uncomfortable positions, quietly shuffling through the pieces and attempting to stick them together. Thomas watched as Patton glanced over at Virgil’s hands before reaching over and grabbing a piece from a pile and handing it to him. The piece must have fit because Patton smiled at Virgil’s bent head and went back to work. 

“Where did you even get this?” Thomas asked incredulously, and both of them looked up at him suddenly, like they weren’t aware he had been watching them for several minutes. Thomas’s brain rebooted, as now that he could see Virgil he saw that the man had his wild hair pushed back with a green headband, and looked like a demented flower with his dark eyeshadow.

Admittedly it was kinda cute, but he had a feeling he was not one of the few people who could tell him that and live.

“Joan,” Virgil said simply, before blinking tiredly at him and going back to the puzzle. Thomas turned to Patton instead.

“Joan was kind enough to lend it to us since they hadn’t used it in some years. And Virgil and I have really been missing our puzzle seshs, so we thought we’d start as soon as possible! Hope you don’t mind we’ve hijacked the table!”

“No,” Thomas said, a little dazed at the whole ordeal. “Not a problem. I’m going to go watch Roman and Logan argue about the role of the fates and free will.”

Patton winced. “I think they're almost done with the book, if it helps.”

* * *

More surprisingly, though, was how Logan and Patton hung out. Thomas could see why Virgil would like the order of puzzles, and Patton enjoyed slowly finding the pieces and fitting them together, but this baffled him a little more.

There wasn’t a mess in his kitchen of hilarious proportions, or a loud explosion, or a sudden outbreak of food being flung. But Patton and Logan were undeniably standing over a cookbook in aprons, a bit of flour on them and a bowl of batter on the table.

“What are you doing?” He felt like he was asking this a lot lately. Is that what having roommates is like?

“Baking a vanilla cake,” Logan answered without hesitation, eyes skimming the recipe in front of him. Patton waved but didn’t stop whatever he was doing.

“But why?” He stressed. 

“Well, it’s been two whole weeks since we...moved in. I thought it would be nice to do something about it!” Patton answered, more subdued than usual. But Patton had moments like that now, taking their talk to heart and beginning to allow himself to not feel perfect. 

“So you asked...Logan?”

“Baking is like chemistry, but if you eat it you don’t die horribly,” Logan said matter-of-factly.

“Cool,” Thomas shrugged, “I’m going to go film, I’ll be home past dinner. Don’t wait up.”

He didn’t bother telling them not to burn the house down, he was pretty sure they were better at cooking than he was. Instead, he snatched up his jacket and headed out, waving to Virgil as he passed.

It wasn’t until he was at Joan’s that he realized what exactly Patton had said.

“So what are the sides up to?” Joan asked as Thomas helped them pack the cameras. 

“Roman was out for a jog last time I saw him, and Virgil was on my Laptop. And then Logan and Patton were making a cake as I left.”

“A cake?” They sounded confused, but Thomas was too busy trying not to break something to look.

“Yeah, as a celebration of two weeks being human, I guess.”

“Has it really been two weeks already?”

Thomas stopped what he was doing. Had it? He wracked his brain and found out Patton was right, and that it was almost bordering on three. Oh.

“You know, dude, I did manage to get in touch with that guy,” Joan said, hesitantly. Thomas sighed, putting the tripod down. Another oh. He still had to place the order. The very illegal, expensive order. 

“Okay, yeah. Um, how soon can I place my order?”

“I can call him up tonight after filming?”

“Okay. Okay, let's do that then. Sooner the better.” Because what other choice did he have?

* * *

When Thomas got home there were lights and sounds coming from the living room, the TV lights illuminating the forms of Logan and Virgil on the couch. Thomas just smiled tiredly, catching sight of the bright 3:09 on the stove clock. As he walked closer he found them both asleep, Virgil drooling on Logan’s shoulder, Logan’s cheek squished comically against the top of Virgil’s head. A science-fiction show was on screen, one he didn’t recognize, and Virgil’s lax hand held a phone in his lap. 

The thing about Logan and Virgil was that as much as they gravitated towards each other, how much they bickered and talked and smiled, Thomas hadn’t seen them hang out the entire first week. It wasn’t until he woke up one night needing a drink that he stumbled upon the two of them. They had been on the couch like this, a bad scifi show playing quietly and Virgil scrolling slowly through his phone, and only then did Thomas realize how close they were.

They didn’t speak the entire time he was observing them that night, just sat close together silently as they did their own thing. But the softness of their expression, the lack of tension in their body, that told Thomas more than words could. He knew Virgil suffered from insomnia, though, he didn’t know why Logan stayed up, to keep him company or due to similar issues. It didn’t really matter to him. 

He quietly walked to his room, and wondered about all of his little observances, about the something in all of them that kept drawing his eye. Maybe it was that they were him, maybe it was that they were them, or maybe it was that Thomas was just being weird.

* * *

“You guys need to get a job.” 

None of the sides, squished together on the couch, looked pleased. But there was also no complaining so Thomas counted it as a win. God, when did he become his mother?

“I ordered your papers and I’ll be getting them in a week and until then you guys have to figure out what you are good at, what you want to do, things like that. You’ll only have a high school degree, so it’ll be entry-level jobs, but there are still a lot of different ones out there.” Thomas continued, and once again received no reply. Admittedly, he wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but the resigned expressions and silence were unnerving.

“...Okay?”

A small chorus of agreement went off, and feeling off-balance, Thomas slowly walked out of the living room. That went well. Now if only he could figure out how he was going to do the Sanders Sides video. Or tell the public he had four strange men with his characters names and personalities living in his two-bedroom house…

Or maybe he can just take a nap. 

* * *

After an embarrassing and terrifying night of meeting Joan’s guy, handing over the majority of his tiny retirement funds, and committing a crime, the side’s started getting jobs. Logan was the first one, going out one morning only to come home that afternoon with a black apron and a hat.

“I have acquired a job,” Logan said, looking the slightest bit proud. Everyone looked up from where they were playing Candyland on the floor of the living room.

“That’s great, Logan! Where do you work?” 

Logan lifted the hat from the folded uniform in his hands and tugged it down on his head. “I am now employed by Common Grounds, a small coffee shop about ten minutes away from here on foot.”

Roman and Virgil started laughing, and Thomas lifted a hand to cover the smile he couldn’t help. Logan looked a strange mixture between stern, ridiculous and adorable in his hat, and the image of him making coffee in a little apron in a cute little shop almost did Thomas in.

“That’s great!” Patton exclaimed, and Thomas nodded quickly, not wanting Logan to think they were making fun of him.

“I’m proud of you, Lo,” Virgil said as he attempted to catch his breath, and Logan looked pink. They must have been embarrassing him.

“That’s really cool! Why did you choose a coffee shop?” Thomas asked, drawing his attention.

“I’m unqualified to do the jobs I would like to, and when I think of your typical beginning job I think of fast food and coffee. I simply refuse to work in the fast-food industry.” Logan explained.

“Preach!” Roman declared, causing Logan to look at him, baffled.

“I am not a priest.”

Patton reached over and grabbed Logan’s hand, tugging him down to sit with them as the rest laugh.

“I got a job!!!”

“I also got a job!”

Thomas looked up from his script, rubbing his eyes. Roman and Patton were standing in front of the kitchen table, both smiling so bright that it hurt his sensitive eyes.

“That's great, guys.” It was hard to muster up any enthusiasm when he was so tired. Was it too late to switch careers? Maybe become a hobo? “Where at?”

“I got hired at Claire's, in the mall!” Roman said dramatically, and Thomas blinked.

“The ...little girl store?”

Roman looked offended. “Yes, the very fun and fantastic accessory shop for young girls. Is there something wrong with that, Thomas?”

“No?” Thomas asked.

“I work at Hot Topic!” Patton interrupted. Wait, what?

Both he and Roman turned to stare at Patton, wide-eyed with surprise. Patton noticed, and shrugged.

“Virgil really likes the store, and they were hiring. I thought it could help bring us closer!”

That’s adorable. But _ god _ what an image.

“I’m sure he’ll love the discount!” Roman said cheerfully, clapping Patton on the shoulder. They both looked at each other, going on just long enough that Thomas turned back to his half-finished script. He didn’t have time for their weirdness.

* * *

Virgil walked into the house at the end of the third week, the last one to get hired and the last one to throw Thomas for a loop.

“Hey, I got a job at a flower shop. What’s for dinner, Pat?” Virgil called, kicking off his shoes at the door and casually tossing himself on the couch next to Logan. There was a brief beat of silence.

“That's. So. Cute!” Patton squealed, reaching over and tugging Virgil into a hug right over Logan’s lap. Logan lifted his book above his head and looked at them in alarm.

“Woah! Patton calm down!” Virgil squawked, but made no effort to extract himself. Patton released him anyway, stars in his eyes.

“A flower shop? Really, Scary Styles?” Roman asked in disbelief. Virgil smirked.

“Can you imagine how all those middle-aged rich women are going to react seeing me behind the register?” Virgil chuckled.

“So you applied to...shock people?” Thomas asked, confused. Virgil opened his mouth, mischievous, before Logan beat him to it.

“Virgil is actually quite fond of flowers and their language.” He replied calmly, like it was common knowledge. Virgil’s mouth snapped shut and he slowly became red, looking awkward.

“Uh,” He cleared his throat, “Yeah.”

“That’s adorable!” Thomas and Patton cooed at him, and Virgil scowled once more.

“Dinner?”

“Oh, it’s spaghetti!” 

* * *

“I have to introduce you guys to the internet. Soon.” Thomas commented during dinner.

“We’ve been on the internet before, Thomas.” Roman teased. Thomas looked up from his plate and rolled his eyes.

“I mean we should do a video introducing you guys, something small, and then later we can do a Q&A.” Thomas clarified.

Logan frowned. “Why must we do something like that? I would rather not be on camera anymore if I can help it.”

“The fans are going to catch sight of us eventually, we can’t pretend we don’t live with Thomas.” Virgil pointed out, though he didn’t look much happier.

“They already have. Vague silhouettes have been caught in my snapchat stories, your voices have been in the background in my vlogs..fans currently think I have a secret boyfriend though.” Thomas admitted.

“Oh, that is so cute.” Patton cooed, spinning his fork in his spaghetti.

“I don’t actually have a secret boyfriend.” He reminded him, but Patton waved him off.

“I know, silly, but the idea is cute.”

“So,” Virgil dragged their attention back to him. “How are we going to do this video?”

* * *

“I have a confession to make,” Thomas admitted to the camera, clasping his hands together. “The characters for the Sanders Sides are real.”

There was a dramatic pause before Thomas dropped his serious act and grinned. “Or, I should say, they were based off of real people. Originally my characters from my shorts were pulled in to represent my different ‘sides’, but along the way, they became more complex, more fleshed out, and eventually the characters you guys all love so much. A couple of videos in I realized that I knew four people who fit my vision of these characters very closely, and with their permission and a little help from them I started shaping Morality, Logic, and Creativity into Patton, Logan, and Roman.

“One of them introduced me to the inspiration behind Anxiety, a character I knew I wanted to portray but was unsure how to do so until I met him, and the Side’s were born. All four have, until now, decided to stay as ghostwriters instead of being on camera, but a recent situation has made it so that's no longer possible. And now I get to introduce them all to you!” Thomas threw his arms open, before gesturing to them to join him on camera. Later, they’d edit it so that all four of them suddenly rose up, but for now, all four of them trudged into their spots with varying levels of excitement.

“Can I introduce you to Roman,” He gestured to his right, where Roman was grinning at the screen and dressed in a jean jacket, “Patton,” Between him and Roman, bouncing on his toes and wearing a baggy dog shirt, “Logan,” Directly to his left, posed as usual on-screen and wearing a white button up, “And Virgil!” Next to Logan, arms crossed and hands hidden in the sleeves of his large striped grey sweater. They all waved.

Thomas spent a little time chatting with each of them and them as a group, nothing more than a few minutes worth of footage, before finishing up with his announcement.

“One last thing I need to inform you all of is the fact that you’ll be seeing a lot more of these guys. All four of them will be living with me for the foreseeable future! And we’ll be doing a Q&A soon so that you all can get to know them, so make sure to send in questions under #realsanderssides on twitter, Instagram, or in the comments below.

“And until next time, take it easy, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals. Peace out!”

He lunged at the camera before pausing and turning to Joan.

“Was that good?”

“Seemed fine to me. So, what do you want in the outro?” 

Thomas turned to them, clapping his hands. “Can I get you all back in your outfits and in your spots?”

They all looked a little wary.

“I haven’t really stood in my spot since we tried all those tests, kiddo. I’m not really comfortable there anymore.” Patton admitted. “Reminds me of what I lost.”

Thomas’s shoulders dropped, and his heart tugged painfully at the reminder of what they _all_ had lost. He forced a smile though. “Maybe you should stand there and remember instead all of the things you've gained.” 

When Patton hesitated, Thomas opened his mouth to suggest something different, hardly about to force them all into doing something that hurt them. Patton answered first though, giving Thomas a wobbly smile. “That’s a good idea.”

Virgil stretched his arms above his head and yawned, before herding them all towards the stairs. “Costume change, hup hup everyone, let’s get to it.”

There was bickering and shoving, and Thomas listened to them stumble up the stairs and smiled. Everything felt like it was going to be okay.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little shorter than usual everyone, I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. Hope you enjoy!!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if Joan is out of character, they just really seem like someone who'd be calm and rational in a crisis situation. And a great friend, really the MVP of this chapter. Also forgive the characters for snapping at eachother, they are incredibly stressed this chapter.  
Check me out on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lavender-rebellion


End file.
